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Publisher's Summary

A mysterious depiction of masked revellers at the Venice carnival hangs in the college rooms of Oliver's old professor in Cambridge. On this cold winter's night, its eerie secret is revealed by the ageing don. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it.

To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty....

Susan Hill has the ghost story down pat. She writes with great economy - no frills, just chills. Hers are the fun, tingle-up-your-spine campfire stories in which you may see what's coming, but enjoy getting there anyway. The premise of The Man in the Picture has been seen before in other formats, but Hill's writing is good enough to make it a worthy read. Paul Andsell's reading is mostly good, although his voicing of the ancient Countess is too old lady falsetto for my taste. I just enjoyed this short little tale for what it is - a nice spooky snack between larger reads.

I love Susan HIll's writing. She has many gifts, but the one I most enjoy is her ability to create a haunting, suspense-filled atmosphere full of sensory detail. THE MAN IN THE PICTURE is a jewel of a ghost story in the tradition of M.R. James and I loved every minute of it. The narration was superb. You may never again regard a painting of masqued Venetian revelers without awe...

An enjoyable story within a story within a story; there are four narrators embedded within each other. Don't let that throw you off; this is one of those horror stories that makes you tense and nervous without blood or grime. It is the reader's imagination that provides the horror behind the loss and the mysteriously-powered painting. A concise, quick-read novella, the author of the Woman in Black has created a tight tale, an old-fashioned horror/ghost story that is a real pleasure to read and makes fear and literary anxiety fun.

You can rely on Susan Hill to deliver a story that is genuinely spooky and without resorting to crass over the top horror. This is a fantastic example and just the right length for one atmospheric sitting.

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